Food, Clothing and Urban Recreation in Yuan China (1271–1368)

Under the Yuan dynasty, founded by Kublai Khan in 1271, food, dress and recreation reflected both Mongol rule and the varied societies of China. Kublai had claimed leadership as Great Khan in 1260, but the conquest of the Southern Song was not completed until 1279. Dadu, near present-day Beijing, served as the main capital, while Shangdu was a summer capital. The dynasty ended in China in 1368, when its court retreated north; the subsequent Northern Yuan is a distinct political period.

Food, clothing and entertainment depended on the work of cooks, textile makers, merchants and performers. Their products met practical needs but could also display wealth or court connections. Looking at preparation, construction and performance reveals more than simply listing the goods or customs in circulation.

On this page5 sections

Food, cooking and drink in Yuan communities

Food preparation served practical needs as well as medical and courtly concerns. The clearest detailed record is the Yinshan zhengyao, a dietary and medical work compiled by Hu Sihui, a court dietician. Hu had entered court service between 1314 and 1320, and presented the work to the emperor Tugh Temür in 1330. It was written for an imperial setting, not as a survey of ordinary household meals.

Hu’s court manual combined mutton preparations, flour foods, spices and dietary ideas from several traditions. Soup-making could involve cooking meat for a broth, crushing pulses to thicken it, straining the liquid and adding further ingredients. Household manuals covered a wider routine of provisioning: preserved vegetables, meat and fish, sauces, noodle foods and breads. Preparing supplies for storage mattered alongside cooking an immediate meal.

Hu’s compilation also treated eating as a matter of health. It advised readers about foods to avoid during pregnancy and when taking medicines, and discussed foods thought to help with illness. A final section arranged foods by categories such as vegetables, fruit, meat, poultry and sea creatures, describing their medicinal properties. The work contained 236 recipes and more than 200 illustrations. Its original Yuan manuscript is lost; surviving editions are based on a Ming edition published in 1456. Its distinctive court purpose and later transmission are important when using it to understand Yuan food.

Clothing, textiles and personal appearance under the Yuan

The terlig, a Mongol robe adapted for riding, became a familiar garment in Yuan China. Its cut combined a fitted upper body with a skirt gathered into many narrow pleats at the waist. The robe was generally calf-length, with long, close sleeves and side openings that allowed movement. It fastened at the right side, and a broad waistband, often secured or decorated with red or silk threads, helped hold it in place. Early Mongol versions were made from animal hides; Yuan examples varied in fabric, colour and collar style.

The same robe form could be made from different fabrics. Narrow sleeves and the gathered skirt served movement; costly silk and decorated waist threads made a more elaborate version. A secured waistband also kept the upper garment controlled while the lower folds allowed space for the legs. Clothing thus joined a practical cut with choices about expense and appearance.

Markets and urban exchange

Urban consumption depended on networks connecting producers, merchants and city residents. Yuan authorities supported commerce through roads, water transport and the Mongol postal system. Kublai’s government extended the Grand Canal north to Dadu, linking the capital more closely with the south. Merchants also operated within wider overland trade networks that connected China to Central and West Asia.

Paper jiaochao banknotes circulated alongside copper cash and formed part of this commercial setting. The combination of transport links, merchant activity and currency supported exchange across the dynasty’s territories.

Theatre and other urban recreation

One prominent Yuan entertainment was zaju, or variety drama, a form of musical theatre that reached a high level of development under Mongol rule. Its roots lay in earlier Song and Jin performance traditions, but the Yuan form had a more organised dramatic structure. A typical play consisted of four acts, sometimes with a short interlude called a xiezi. In the main singing parts, one principal character carried the arias, while other characters contributed spoken dialogue. The songs used established tunes and rhythmic patterns rather than newly composed melodies for every performance.

Performances combined singing, poetry, speech, mime and movement. A small company of actors could take specialised parts, including male and female leads, painted-face characters and clowns. Women performed on stage and could also take male roles. The pipa, a plucked string instrument, was an important accompaniment. Plays drew on court and historical stories, legal cases, romances, comedy and supernatural themes. Some surviving Yuan plays became known through later editions, which could alter their original wording; the music of Yuan performances has not survived.

The wider performance culture included music, dance and acrobatics, forms with histories predating the Yuan. Earlier Song uses of the term zaju referred to mixed entertainments, preceding the more structured Yuan drama. Yuan drama brought different performance and literary traditions together in a form created for live presentation and enjoyed by audiences in urban settings.

Religious occasions and public performance

Religious life in Yuan China included Buddhist, Taoist, Muslim, Christian and other communities, with different relationships to the state and court. The theatre’s religious dimension was only one part of this varied life. Performances could take place near temples or on occasions associated with important events in people’s lives, sometimes with the aim of seeking divine favour. Other plays were primarily entertainment, even when they used religious characters and ideas.

Some dramas told stories of immortals or supernatural deliverance. Taoist figures such as Lü Dongbin and the Eight Immortals appeared in plots about transformation and salvation.

For the wider setting, see Daily Life in Yuan China: Households, Work, Food and Worship.